I have a shopfox 1706 14” band saw that I’ve had for about 5 years now. Its really a good saw. I have no complaints about it, save that it only has a 6” resaw depth.

I am considering going to a G0513ANV 17” saw. It has the 12” resaw height and a more powerful motor. I do have the 220V power to run it as well.

I’m just looking for advice for those who have made a similar upgrade. Was it worth it? Will I miss the cast iron wheels? (Mine currently has them but the Griz 17 has aluminum wheels). Is the Grizzly frame rigid enough? That is another limitation of the design of the 14” saws…it can tension a 3/4” blade but it seems to be at its limit there, where I would think the larger saw could easily handle that blade width.

My drivers are two fold: 1) there have been a number of times where I wish I could have re-sawn wider boards. and 2) I have a Grizzly Coupon right now for 10%off.

Thanks,Brian

-- Part of engineering is to know when to put your calculator down and pick up your tools.

My upgrade is somewhat similar, I had an older Taiwanese 12” POS that I suffered through for far to long and replaced it with a large Grizzly. The power and resaw capacity were were welcome additions, paying ~$30 for what had previously been more like a $10 was not (not to mention having to change blades far too frequently). I eventually bought a 14” Delta much like the one you’re considering getting rid of to join it that has a 1/4” 8tpi blade that stays on it for light duty scroll work. If you have the room and are comfortable having that much money tied up in two handsaws, I would recommend keeping the Delta when you get the big boy, that way you can leave it set up for dedicated resaw/rough milling work.

The cast iron wheels are really a sticking point for me. How much value do you place on them vs aluminum?

The other thing is the guides. The ANV model uses carbide disk euro style guides from what I can tell. My current one has roller bearings. Are the fixed kind adequate? Adding Carter guides is another 250 bucks, or I could go with the X2 variant from grizzly which includes roller bearing guides and cast iron wheels. Either option puts me over $1k, closer to $1200, which is a lot more than the $900 I was looking at for the ANV model with coupon.

Brian

-- Part of engineering is to know when to put your calculator down and pick up your tools.

Cast wheels are not an option really,ya need and appreciate that extra momentum! Guides are a preference and perhaps experience using either? My General came with double bearings which is nice when using 1/2” plus blades.